Combined Prison Term: Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced fugitive drug trafficker Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu and former international footballer Hunkarin Segun George to a total of 24 years in prison without the option of a fine [cite: Justice-Musa-Kakaki-of-the-Federal-High-Court-Lagos-jailed-fugitive-drug-trafficker-Ntoruka-Emmanuel-Chinedu-and-ex-international-footballer-Hunkarin-Segun-George-for-a-combined-24-years., The-court-gave-Chinedu-22-years-and-Hunkarin-two-years-without-fine-options-as-NDLEA-boss-Brig-Gen-Mohamed-Buba-Marwa-retd-praised-the-judgment.].....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

• Chinedu’s Sentence: Chinedu received 20 years for a previous 2015 drug case involving 6.25kg of cocaine, plus an additional 2 years for conspiracy, totaling 22 years behind bars [cite: NDLEA-spokesman-Femi-Babafemi-said-Chinedu-absconded-after-September-2015-arraignment-over-6-25kg-cocaine-but-operatives-rearrested-him-at-MMIA-on-June-24-2025., Delivering-judgment-Justice-Kakaki-sentenced-Chinedu-to-20-years-imprisonment-without-an-option-of-fine-for-the-unlawful-importation-of-6-25kg-cocaine., The-judge-imposed-an-additional-two-year-prison-term-also-without-an-option-of-fine-for-conspiring-dengan-with-Hunkarin-to-unlawfully-import-the-additional-800-grams-of-cocaine., The-sentences-brought-Chinedu-s-total-prison-term-to-22-years.].

• Hunkarin’s Sentence: The former Brazilian-league footballer was handed a two-year custodial sentence for conspiracy after being caught waiting at the airport car park to collect the illicit consignment [cite: The-court-gave-Chinedu-22-years-and-Hunkarin-two-years-without-fine-options-as-NDLEA-boss-Brig-Gen-Mohamed-Buba-Marwa-retd-praised-the-judgment., Further-investigations-led-NDLEA-operatives-to-Hunkarin-a-former-professional-footballer-who-had-spent-several-years-playing-for-clubs-in-Brazil., The-agency-said-Hunkarin-was-waiting-at-the-airport-car-park-to-collect-the-cocaine-consignment-from-Chinedu-when-operatives-tracked-and-arrested-him., Hunkarin-meanwhile-received-a-two-year-custodial-sentence-for-conspiracy-bringing-the-combined-sentences-imposed-on-the-two-convicts-to-24-years.].

Background and Arrest

• The Decade-Long Flight: Chinedu originally absconded after being arraigned in September 2015 and jumping bail, remaining a fugitive for nearly ten years [cite: NDLEA-spokesman-Femi-Babafemi-said-Chinedu-absconded-after-September-2015-arraignment-over-6-25kg-cocaine-but-operatives-rearrested-him-at-MMIA-on-June-24-2025., Chinedu-who-had-been-on-the-run-for-nearly-10-years-after-jumping-bail-in-an-earlier-cocaine-trafficking-case-received-a-total-of-22-years-imprisonment-while-Hunkarin-was-sentenced-to-two-years.].

• Rearrest: NDLEA operatives successfully rearrested him on June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) while he attempted to smuggle an additional 800 grams of cocaine from Addis Ababa [cite: NDLEA-spokesman-Femi-Babafemi-said-Chinedu-absconded-after-September-2015-arraignment-over-6-25kg-cocaine-but-operatives-rearrested-him-at-MMIA-on-June-24-2025., The-agency-said-Chinedu-remained-at-large-for-almost-a-decade-before-operatives-rearrested-him-on-June-24-2025-at-the-Murtala-Muhammed-International-Airport-Ikeja-Lagos., At-the-time-of-his-arrest-he-was-allegedly-attempting-to-smuggle-another-800-grams-of-cocaine-into-Nigeria-aboard-an-Ethiopian-Airlines-flight-from-Addis-Ababa.].

Reactions

• NDLEA Commendation: NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) praised the judiciary and commended operatives, noting that the decade-long pursuit highlights the agency’s persistence in tracking down drug fugitives [cite: The-court-gave-Chinedu-22-years-and-Hunkarin-two-years-without-fine-options-as-NDLEA-boss-Brig-Gen-Mohamed-Buba-Marwa-retd-praised-the-judgment., Reacting-to-the-conviction-the-Chairman-and-Chief-Executive-Officer-of-the-NDLEA-Brig-Gen-Mohamed-Buba-Marwa-retd-commended-the-judiciary-describing-the-judgment-as-further-demonstration-of-its-commitment-to-tackling-drug-trafficking., According-to-him-the-rearrest-of-the-convict-after-almost-10-years-on-the-run-demonstrated-the-agency-s-doggedness-patience-and-thoroughness-in-tracking-fugitives.].